


Discovery [Currently On Hiatus]

by saltywrapper



Category: Baby Daddy (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-26 06:06:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltywrapper/pseuds/saltywrapper
Summary: It sounds like something out of a telenovela.Ben and Riley break up,  due to an impromptu confession of love about Riley by Danny. Ben comes across Joshua, a friendly face.EDIT [2/18/18] : I'm sorry for not updating; I've had to take care of a lot of IRL business (truthfully: my thesis, ahah!). I probably won't be able to update until maybe the end of the second week of March? I'll likely be uploading one-shots and stuff, maybe some non-Josh/Ben. Again, I'm really sorry for not having said this any sooner. As a little apology I'm preparing Ch6 and maybe I'll be able to finish by Wednesday if I'm lucky. It's probably one of my longest Chapters, ever.





	1. Recovering

Ben felt the heat in his blood, he felt it boil. He wanted to throw his fist into the wall, hurt himself so he could forget the stabbing pain in his chest. He blamed himself, that he couldn’t see this coming, because in the back of his head, he always knew it, that Danny had feelings for Riley and that she reciprocated.

When Danny shared to a soap star his feelings about Riley in a sudden confession, Ben stormed out. It was the final nail on the coffin that was their relationship, and he left Riley with a snide “Nice coaching” before committing to a six-pack of beer on the way home.

It hurt so much to the one breaking it up, to be the one letting go of the words, to even have entertained the idea of a ‘time-out’ because he so, so, _so_ wanted this to work out. When he was done, it was clear neither of them had more to say, so he left and shut himself inside his room.

* * *

 

The next two days were uneventful. Ben avoided Danny and Riley, and found solace in thorough alcohol consumption and obscure food. He knew he had to stop, for Emma’s sake and his, but _God_ , anything to forget what happened.

Despite the throbbing headache, he crawled out of bed and raised Emma out of hers. He dragged his heavy legs down the hall to the kitchen and grabbed something to eat for both of them. When he sat Emma down, the door opened. It was Tucker, thank God.

“You’re up.” Tucker said. He strutted up to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee and took a generous sip.

Ben sighed. “I had to get up and work some time.” He smiled at Emma, who messily shoved damp cereal into her mouth. She smiled back. “And I can’t let personal drama affect my one and only.”

Tucker chuckled and marched to his room. His voice trailed behind him. “That’s the spirit! That guy Oliver took over for the past two days, and let me tell you, it is _not_ the same. Danny and I even helped a little.”

Ben almost crushed his cereal. _Danny_. Brother or not, hearing an impromptu confession of love for your girlfriend at the time while being justifiably jealous just confirms that not-so-great feeling. He grunted and finished his sugary slosh of milk and cereal, and helped Emma finish hers before getting her dressed. He led Emma to the living room and grabbed a towel and headed for a shower.

The hot water was nice. That, and a nice shave, was all Ben needed to clear his head. He got out and dove into a fresh change of clothes. Back at the living area, he asked Tucker to take care of Emma while he was out.

“On it.” Tucker said.

He then kissed Emma goodbye and left.

* * *

 

Ben was happy to be back at work. Bartending was good: it was comfortable, it was a safe space. It was Ben’s hockey field, whereas Danny’s is the actual hockey rink uptown. It wasn’t something like dating where you have to second-guess each of your stupid decisions; he knew what he did, what he was doing, and what he was going to do. You want a martini? You got it.

The day slowly passed into late afternoon, and the bar was more or less filled. Ben presented his expertise in juggling a couple wine bottles to a few people at the counter. He was doing greatly, if not exceptional, until someone called his name. He flailed his arms and caught one of the two bottles, but missed the other one. He was still reaching for the bottle as it shattered into both small and large pieces, one of which cut through his knuckles. Cue a scream.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. I wasn’t thinking at all.” Ben said. He looked up, cradling the bleeding hand and saw Joshua sporting a concerned look. It all came back to him: the plan to kick him out of his mother’s apartment, the kiss, all that. “Joshua?”

Joshua chuckled. “Glad you remember. I didn’t realize you worked here.”

Ben shrugged. “Well, I’ll be with you in a second. I’ll clean all this up.” He turned to his partner at the bar Oliver. “Hey, can you cover for me? I definitely won’t be able to work with an injury.”

“You’re going to clock out soon, anyways.” Ben mouthed a thank you and slid around the counter, heading for the manager’s office.

“I’ll come with you.” Joshua offered.

“No, no, it’s fine.”

Joshua flashed a smile. Ben felt weird, like his chest suddenly became a little heavier. “It’s the least I could do for shocking you like that. Besides, I’m going to be a doctor soon.”

Ben smiled back. “Your choice.” He marched to the manager’s office, a room at the far end of the hallway at the side. He entered, and found the first aid kit in one of the cabinets. He grabbed disinfectant and popped the cap to spray all over the wound, but Joshua stopped him.

“Wash it with soap and water first. We’ll need to see if the wound is bigger than it looks like.” Joshua said.

Ben obeyed and came back smelling his hands. “I didn’t realize the liquid soap we have here smells like peach.”

Joshua laughed. “The best kind.” He grabbed Ben’s hand and observed the cut. “Good news, it doesn’t seem to be a dangerously large cut. Bad news, I’ll spray you now.”

Ben wanted to jerk his hand away, but Joshua held it in place. “Jesus _fucking_ Christ, that hurts balls!” He slammed his free hand down on the desk and bit his lower lip.

“Time to bandage you up.” Joshua loosened his grip on Ben’s hand. He cut a lengthy strip of gauze and draped it around the wound, tying it down with tape. Blood slowly pooled to the top.

“Looks like I’m going to have to dip out of work for a while again.” Ben commented.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Ben chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. Personal stuff.” He kind of wanted to talk about it with someone, but Joshua wasn’t that someone right now. He was a ‘stranger at arm’s length’, kind of. Not exactly a friend, but not exactly a stranger either. Ben won’t lie about enjoying the company though. “So how have you been? You find a new apartment?”

“I did.” Joshua said. “It’s just right around the corner from my old—your mom’s building.”

“That’s good. It’s all happy ever after: Mom’s back in her apartment, and you found a better one. You get to stay away from all the crazy.”

Joshua laughed. “Why don’t we hang out tonight? I’m free, and you’re not going to work any sooner than tomorrow.”

“I’m down.” Ben agreed. “I can ask my mom to take care of Emma tonight.”

“Glad you’re not weird about this.” Joshua said.

“I need to get out, and you’ve met my mom. Checkmate.”


	2. Fresh Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Joshua hang out.

Joshua was hopelessly attracted to Ben. He had to remember they were just hanging out, that they weren’t going on a data. He was in an endless cycle of wanting to make a move on Ben, maybe kiss him and move his hand up his legs, and suddenly remembering Ben’s denial of all homosexual attraction.

He led Ben to his apartment, stopping for a moment to buy a six-pack of beer for both of them. He walked the man upstairs to his apartment and opened the door.

When Ben entered, he was impressed. “This is so much nicer than my mom’s apartment. Heck, it’s nicer than my apartment even when I first moved in.” He commented.

Joshua thanked him humbly. He pointed to a set of closed doors at the far end of the hall. “It’s only really much neater here in the living area because I stashed most of the boxes in that walk-in closet.” He lowered the beer onto his coffee table and dropped down to sit on his couch. He grabbed the remote and offered it to Ben. “Want to watch anything? I’ve got Netflix and a box of movies.”

Ben followed suit and sat on the couch and turned to Joshua, smiling. “All I want is to just hang out. Anything works.”

Joshua smiled back.

* * *

It felt like they’ve been talking for hours. Joshua listened to Ben’s retelling of comedic anecdotes over casual swigs of liquor: Ben shared the hectic week that happened when his dad visited. Ben recalled that his dad came out to him, and he tried so hard to shut him up just so his mom won’t get upset during Emma’s first Christmas photo.

“Just before the camera clicks, Danny says ‘Ben’s gay!’” Ben said.

Joshua swallowed and laughed. “What?”

Ben stifled his laughter, but he failed and his words just came out in-between broken breaths. “Yeah. So, of course, the camera man has to stop because my mom and I scream ‘What?’” He took another swig. “Of course, I deny, and my mom thought it explained my relationship with Tucker. Eventually, my dad comes out. Guess how my mom reacted.”

Joshua feigned a soft look of pain. “Bad?”

Ben shook his head. “She was overjoyed, by the fact the marriage failure wasn’t her fault!”

They shared a few more notes of laughter, followed by a little dead silence. Hanging out with Ben was fun, it made Joshua feel a little closer to his inner circle of people, especially when hearing him tell stories about his family—they seemed pretty tightly knit, case in point: two days ago, they conspired to kick Joshua out of his mother’s apartment by stealing back her lease.

Joshua was over that, though. He found a better apartment for cheaper, and he was hanging out with this single father with the greatest looks. Joshua internally grunted at the thought of Ben. _Fuck_ , he was hopeless.

He didn’t realize the silence until Ben shook him out of his thoughts, and he apologized.

“Um, it’s okay.” Ben chuckled. He looked at his watch; Joshua followed suit and checked the time: 11:20pm. Late. “I should get home, actually.”

“Really?” Joshua asked. There was a note of disappointment, and he hoped Ben didn’t notice.

“Yeah, I can’t just rely on my family to take care of Emma for me just because I’m in a slump.” Ben shrugged and smiled. “I did have fun though. Thanks for listening to me griping about life.”

“Anytime.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “You look like you want to say something.”

Joshua paused and thought long and hard about what he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss Ben, make a move on him again despite his insistence that he was straight. He opened his mouth. “It’s not that I want to say...but it’s probably better if I do.”

Before Ben could complete a “Do what?”, Joshua leaned over and kissed him. Unlike the other day, Ben didn’t frantically try to escape. Joshua kicked himself over mentally for even entertaining a thought, but it felt like he was actually kissing back. Ben pulled away, though.

He apologized.

Joshua countered with an apology of his own. “No, _I’m_ sorry for kissing you like that again. I know you’re straight, and you just wanted to hang out.”

Ben was smiling, though. And it was a little subtle, but likewise Joshua felt a little weird about it.

“Yeah, but, uh...how do I say this?” Ben began. He took a deep breath. “Okay, if I’m being perfectly honest about this: I did kind of like our kiss the other night. So I didn’t mind tonight, but...”

Joshua’s heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. He was hitting on Ben, and Ben hit back. He couldn’t feel more overjoyed, but only because of one thing. “But...”

“See, uh...I’m waiting for Riley.”

* * *

Joshua understood. Ben was simply in a recent breakup, and it was something that needed time to be sure about. He followed Ben and hailed a taxi for him when he left, and he came back to his apartment feeling giddy about Ben being receptive to his feelings. It excited him, to be completely honest.

He couldn’t sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! This was a really hard chapter to write, mostly because I'm shit at dialogue and the passage of time is a really hard thing for me to describe. I've revised the chapter over and over to try and improve the other parts of it, and I feel like I've reached the best version of it yet. Hope you like it!


	3. Backup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fleet Week!

Despite Joshua’s forwardness, he and Ben kept hanging out. It wasn’t awkward at all—in fact a little flirting made it all the more easy. Having Emma around wasn’t too bad, either: one time, a woman at the park went up to them and mentioned her brother and his boyfriend having trouble with adopting. Ben did reveal that Emma was his blood and flesh, sired from a one-night stand who left her at his doorstep, at the expense of the woman. The whole encounter was memorable enough that Ben started thinking of Joshua as a romantic interest. A few nights after that encounter, he couldn’t sleep, and the mere thought of Joshua smiling only made it worse.

 _Fuck_.

* * *

The bar was filled to its metaphorical brim. It was Fleet Week, and all Navymen were having drinks at the Bar on B. After making unsuccessful passes at a couple women at the bar, Ben and Tucker groaned at the slow creeping of uniformed men into the place.

Tucker turned to Ben. “Hey, how did it go with Riley? Did she take it well?” The earlier night, they had discussed Ben’s lingering feelings for Riley and how he was stuck in a vicious cycle of miscommunication and no communication at all. Tucker had encouraged Ben to talk to Riley, to man up and to take back control of the relationship.

Ben threw his hands up a little in defeat. “I talked to her, but she hasn’t called me back. I don’t know, maybe she’s avoiding me.”

Tucker consoled his best friend. His face lit up all of a sudden. “You know what we should do? Pretend to be sailors and hook you up with some girls! It’s Fleet Week, after all.”

“I don’t know.” Ben was incredulous. He thought of the time he slept with Angela after he thought Riley had slept with Fitch, an old boyfriend. He was hurting, after having thought Riley moved on, and so fast.

“Come on! Aren’t you the one who said it’s time to move on?” Tucker asked. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea.”

“I should charge you for that joke.” Ben opened his mouth to finally give in, but he stopped. Joshua sort of appeared in his head, flashing his million-dollar smile. He promised him an answer after Riley had given him hers. He shook himself from his thoughts and continued. “I still don’t know, I want to wait for Riley.”

“Too late. You’re coming with me, no matter what.”

* * *

It felt like he was cheating on both Riley and Joshua. It was wrong—not only was he wearing a ridiculously loose sailor costume, but he was looking for a hook-up while he was waiting for Riley’s answer, nor giving Joshua one. It wasn’t fair, not for any of them.

“Dude, lighten up.” Tucker said. “Don’t worry, I got this.” He walked over to two men hitting on a couple women at the bar. He said something Ben couldn’t make out, but the sailors went white and ran out. When he came back, he was rolling over with laughter. “I told them the captain was looking for them because he knows what they did last night. They _all_ did something last night.”

Ben chuckled as Tucker led him to the women the other two sailors were talking to. Tucker introduced himself. “Hi, I’m seaman Tucker and this is private Benjamin.”

Ben laughed again. “You said seaman.”

It was that easy—simple humour netted them phone numbers. They were about to celebrate with a drink, but Ben bumped into Riley. There was a few seconds of dead silence where they just stared at each other, and times where they stopped when the other started speaking as well. Ben forged ahead and spoke, because _God_ , he missed her.

“Hey.”

Riley moved a lock of her hair back. Ben noticed she did that when she was nervous or trying to hide something; case in point, he recalled the time she tried to hide Danny from him. “Hey. What’s with the outfit?”

Ben stammered, but managed an excuse. “Management thought it would be a fun promotion thing for Fleet Week, you know?” He snatched a tray of burgers and chips, and served it to the table with its number. “Chips ahoy!” He turned to Riley again.

Riley apologized. “I’m really sorry for not calling you back yet. But I really want to talk to you.”

Ben’s face lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. “You do?”

“Yeah.” Riley said. “But can we do it after your shift? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

Ben nodded, smiling from ear to ear. He let Riley run past him as Tucker walked over to him with an incredulous look plastered on his face.

“Dude, what happened?”

Excited, Ben immediately shared. “She said she wanted to talk. Maybe she wants to get back together!”

“If she wanted to talk, she would’ve told you already!”

The woman behind Tucker spoke up. “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but he’s right. When a girl wants to talk, it’s usually because she wants to walk.” She motioned over to look at Riley.

When Ben looked, he felt his heart do a somersault, fail horribly and fall flat on its...whatever. Riley was hugging Danny.

Ben felt lightheaded, so he fell back and sat on a chair by the bar. “Yeah, if...if she wanted to get back together, she would’ve hugged me instead of my brother.” He turned to Tucker. “Hey, I’m going for a walk. I think I need to clear my head.”

Tucker slung an arm around him and consoled Ben. “You sure? We can probably use alcohol for that.”

“Yeah, I just want to answer something.” Ben rushed out.

* * *

 

Ben looked for Joshua. He didn’t call, he wanted to surprise the guy. It didn’t matter that he was wearing a huge sailor outfit, that bystanders were pulling their phones out to record the ridiculous-looking man walking the streets. He simply wanted to answer a question for both him and Joshua.

He knocked on his door once. When Joshua answered, he simply looked at Joshua with the biggest puppy eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a little reference. Hope you guys liked this chapter! :)


	4. Hot Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of last night were weird and foggy to Ben.

Last night was a messy, weird and confusing mess. It was hard to remember, and the only thing that made it harder was the fact that there was another man in Ben’s bed. When he saw Joshua’s face he internally screamed, trying to both deafen the mind-splitting silence in his head and cope with what he’s done. He conceded that in the few short weeks they had been hanging out, he came to realize some feelings for him; when Joshua flirted, he flirted back. Sleeping with him was a whole other ordeal however considering his unreliable memory.

Despite his hurting head, he lifted the covers and attempted to James Bond his way out of his own bed. Unfortunately he rolled off the bed and woke his hook-up in the loud interjection most commonly known as “Ouch!” When he recovered he quickly sat up and looked at a groggy, squinting Joshua.

“Ben?” The man called.

Ben managed a response in-between nervous laughter. “Hey. Do you happen to, maybe, remember if we...you know.”

Joshua adjusted himself and lifted the covers and chuckled. He sat up, back towards the headboard. “We probably did, since we’re both wearing our birthday suits.”

Ben was embarrassed, so he hid his face behind his hands. He apologized. “This might have been a mistake. I can’t believe I dragged you into my bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” Joshua raised his eyebrows. “You came to me _twice_.”

“Twice?” Ben said. “I thought I came to you only once.”

Joshua shrugged. “Okay you came to me once. We kissed and you said that _that_ was a mistake and that you had to leave, so you apologized and left. I thought that you needed to cool off.” Joshua asked him if he really didn’t remember, to which Ben nodded. He cleared his throat and continued. “Okay, so I waited, but you didn’t come back. I went down to the bar to look for you and I found you sitting at the counter alone and crying.”

Ben felt the puzzle pieces fall into place. He only heard a continuous _Fuck, fuck, fuck_ noise for the duration of his headache. “I was crying because Riley and I broke up for real. I looked up and saw you at the door and we kissed.” He apologized again. “I’m sorry; are you sure you still want to be with me? Even with all my baggage?”

“Hey.” Joshua crawled closer, leaning over and placing his hand on Ben’s cheek. He felt Ben put a little weight on it, and he took it as a signal to pick his reddening face up. He leaned into his mouth. When he pulled away, he wore a tight little smirk Ben thought was kind of hot. “That wasn’t a mistake, I’m sure.” Before getting up, he kissed Ben again.

Ben dressed in a simple homey shirt and sweatpants ensemble while he helped Joshua find his shirt and jeans. They had a little fun in deciding whose underwear the black Hanes or striped boxers was. The fun was cut short however, when they received a knock on the door, followed by Bonnie’s irritated voice. She asked if Ben was up and Ben made sure his response was oozing with sarcasm.

“If I didn’t answer would you have walked in anyways?”

“Yeah, well, I’m coming in.”

Ben screeched. “Mom, I’m naked!” He ran for the door and locked it.

“Jesus Christ, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Let me in, I’ve got to talk to you about something!” Bonnie said.

“Can it wait five minutes?” Bonnie finally left the vicinity and Ben apologized profusely to Joshua. “Sorry you had to see that. I’m not that sorry though, since you don’t have to live with that.”

Joshua laughed. “Well, how am I getting out?”

Ben suggested the fire escape, which lead to the elevator landing. He opened the window and stepped out; he extended a hand, which Joshua took. He led him to through the fire escape and sure enough, it led to the elevator landing. He called for the elevator the moment they got in. Before Joshua stepped in, he kissed Ben one last time.

“Something to think about. Call me.”

The elevator dropped and Ben made his way back to his room. He stepped out of his room; in his wake he saw Bonnie and Tucker slumped on the couch and Riley on the counter-side chairs. He addressed his mom first. “What did you want to talk about again?”

Bonnie pressed Play on the remote; on the TV was a video of her addressing John Bon Jovi. “I wanted to ask you three to watch my reel to get hired as Bon Jovi’s realtor!”

“That’s great, but, um.” Ben began, noting the cave-like structure of Bon Jovi memorabilia that surrounded his mom in the video. “I thought dad burned the Bon Jovi Shrine.”

Bonnie stared at Ben with as much resolve in her eyes. “I built it back up.”

After the video, Tucker turned to Ben. “Oh yeah, Ben, how did your hook-up go? I didn’t see her leave at all this morning, so I assumed that maybe she woke up earlier than me, but let’s be real: I wake up at five in the morning.”

Riley squinted at Ben. “A hook-up? You had a hook-up? Literal minutes after we broke up?”

“Well, yeah.” Ben shrugged. “Why are you getting on the offensive about this? We broke up.”

Riley didn’t say anything, but Tucker did. He faced Riley. “Yeah, I’m sorry. Riley, considering...you know.” He was trying to signal something to Riley, but Ben was too shaken up by Riley’s sudden interest to notice or understand. “I’m more inclined to give Ben my sympathies.”

Riley sighed and loosened herself. “Alright, sorry. You’re right. We broke up. I broke us up.”

“Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my room getting ready for work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this was a fairly short chapter. I have more action planned in 5 and 6, so stay tuned for those.
> 
> I also think it might be a little lacking in the 'storytelling' department since it's mostly dialogue and not prose.


	5. We're Both Asses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One night gives Danny Wheeler the wrong (or right?) idea.

Watching Ben sleep was a treat. It was a little chore to have to wake up early, but there was the perk of looking at a scruffy-faced father of one sleeping through one hell of a night. He was cute, and Joshua couldn’t get enough of it.

Dating a closeted guy had its disadvantages though. There was little to no assurance of commitment, not to mention the drama that came with it. There was also the fact Joshua was a rebound, and while he knew what he was getting into, it didn’t stop feeling a little insecure about the relationship.

He kissed Ben before he got up. He picked up his clothes and threw them on. He checked the time—it was a few minutes past 5am.

Earlier, Ben warned Joshua that Tucker and Danny woke up insanely early, so he had to be careful if he snuck out.

He opened Ben’s bedroom door and tiptoed out. He was careful not to make any noise, and eventually, he reached the main door and he quickly left. He sighed heavily.

The elevator had an Out-of-Order poster across its doors when Joshua checked it. He jogged down the stairs and accidentally bumped into a tall muscular blond man who looked really familiar.

“Oops.” Joshua apologized.

“No, it’s my bad.” The man was about to move past Joshua, but stopped and stared at him. “Do you live here? You’re a new face.”

Joshua shook his head and laughed nervously. “Um, no. Actually I’m dating a guy who lives here. Ben Wheeler.”

The man immediately went white. He stammered when he tried to respond, and managed. “Ben Wheeler? 4C?”

Joshua nodded.

“Are you sure?” The man asked.

Joshua felt weird getting pressed by this man. It felt like he overstepped a line or something.

The man continued. “You see here, Ben’s my brother. I’m Danny.”

His heart started to race. He messed up, big time: not only had he outed Ben, he jeopardized their relationship. He hammered out an excuse, or tried for that matter. “Did I say Ben Wheeler? I meant, um...”

“By the looks on your face, you said the right name.” Danny said, a smug grin plastered on his face. “But I don’t believe you. Ben’s not gay.”

Joshua wanted to run past the man, but his legs felt frozen in place. “Believe what you want. Um, I have to go.” He had to stoop a little low to avoid Danny’s gaze, but he immediately floored it. He had to call Ben.

* * *

Danny had to work on his subtlety—he couldn’t just directly ask Ben if he was gay. There was a time that he did think so, and that was two or three years ago when they took a Christmas photo for Emma. Their dad, Ray, had just come out to Ben and Ben tried so hard to keep him quiet so no one would get upset. Both Ben and Ray vaguely described to Danny what they had been talking about and Danny interpreted that as Ben was closeted. What was he supposed to think, Danny asked himself. Ben was frantic about their secret and that just proved it more.

He laughed to himself. What _was_ he thinking? Ben wasn’t gay. It can’t be true—sure, Ben was a flirt, relentless with pick-up lines and hook-ups. That didn’t mean he played with guys, too, does it?

He shook his head off these thoughts and simply went into their apartment. Ben greeted him, which was weird. Ben wasn’t usually up at this time.

“How was the jog?” Ben asked. He helped Emma with her sugary cereal slosh.

“Nothing much.” Danny said. “What are you doing up? It’s, like, 6am.”

Ben shrugged. “I just felt like waking up earlier. I mean, it’ll help in the future when Emma finally goes to school. That’s justification after the fact, but y’know.”

Danny pulled off his shirt and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. “How are things with you and Riley? Ever work things out?”

It was a little while before Ben answered. “Yeah. Actually, we broke up. That was around two weeks ago? Yeah.”

Danny consoled his brother.

“It’s okay. It was mutual.” Ben mumbled. “I’ve actually started seeing someone new, so that’s a plus.”

“Will we ever meet this someone?” Danny asked.

“I’m not too fond of the idea yet. It’s still pretty new to me, anyways.” Ben remarked. “Besides, the labels are still kind of fuzzy.”

“Come on, now.” Danny pressed. “Describe her a little.”

Ben didn’t answer, and this just made the suspicions grow. “I don’t think you know get it. I’d like to keep it secret for a while.” He explained. “A secret’s a secret.”

Danny sighed. “Alright, whoever it is, I support you.”

Ben just looked at him weird. “That’s good to know.” Ben turned to Emma. “Hey, if you ever get a brother or sister, don’t act like that. It’s just weird.”

* * *

The week after his and Danny’s initial encounter, Joshua tried to be more careful. He eventually had the courage to tell Ben and he wasn’t that mad.

“It’s one person, and that person is Danny. Besides, it explains why he’s been so weird lately, asking me a lot of questions.” Ben muttered. “In any case, I don’t mind you’ve spilled it a little. He’s pretty slow and he’s bound to forget it anyways.”

Joshua chuckled. “That’s not nice.”

Ben cracked a smile. He inched closer to Joshua and kissed him. “Want me to show you what else isn’t nice?”

“Bring it on.”

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Danny stayed vigilant, looking for the thread that will lead him to whatever truth Ben was hiding. He started his own little investigation, kind of like Sherlock, but hotter. He meant it when he was going to support Ben, but he just had to hear it from him first, to know if it was true.

There had been a night when Ben brought home someone quite a few minutes past midnight. They had a little talk in the living room before bringing things to Ben’s bedroom. Their voices were ambiguous and the general interior design of the apartment made it harder to determine whose voice was whose.

Early in the morning after that night, Danny left to jog. He never came across that man again. When he came back from the jog, Ben was up, feeding Emma the regular slosh. It was very un-Ben. Danny wanted to question it, but he was very much so lacking in that department.


	6. Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben goads Tucker into a guessing game about his recent partner and a few things click.

“Give me a hint.”

For the past hour, Tucker had been pestering Ben about who his secret someone was—he caught him talking very endearingly on the phone, something very un-Ben.

“Stop.” Ben groaned. “I don’t think you realize what a secret is.”

“But we’re best friends and we tell each other everything!” Tucker whined. He annoyed Ben for a few more minutes and finally said. “Okay, just tell me if I know who we’re talking about here.”

“Yes, you do, and we’re not talking about it anymore.” Ben stood up and lifted Emma off the couch. He was about to go to his room until he saw Tucker’s suddenly despairing face. “Okay, I’ll bite. Who do you think it is?”

“Is it Angela?” Tucker asked.

“Dude, no!” Ben cried. “Never in a million, no, not even in a billion years! Besides, she’s still in L.A. trying to get famous. I don’t think she’ll have time for me any time soon.” He sighed and carried Emma to his room, to try and put her to bed. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

* * *

Ben wasn’t sure if Joshua was mad over the phone. He treaded carefully—Joshua was one thing he was very determined not to lose. That resolve didn’t help much when Joshua asked the million-dollar question.

“So, when _are_ you going to come out?” Joshua asked.

Ben gave it a few seconds of thought before responding. “I’m not sure yet. If Tucker does eventually get it, I’ll confirm.”

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t seem enough. “And when do you think that is?”

Ben laughed nervously. “I don’t know, Josh. What’s with this line of questioning?”

Silence. This wasn’t good. Ben ran all the situations in his head, but he came up with zero possible responses. _Fuck_.

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, yielding. “If...if this is about whether I’m attracted to you or not, I think the last two months prove that I am.”

“That’s the thing, Ben. These...God, I don’t want to say ‘suspicions’, but they’re not totally unfounded. Sometimes I think you’re using me just to replace Riley, and I get that. That’s what being a rebound is.” Joshua said. “I don’t want to go there, but I have to ask: what if Riley tells you she wants to get back together?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he did want to pursue Riley again if it ever came up. But he has Joshua now, and he was finally moving on. He didn’t want to answer either, because the last time he answered a hypothetical question, he and Riley broke up.

It seemed that the radio silence was all Joshua needed. He choked a little. “I think we both know the answer to that question. You know where to find me.” There was the audible click that meant a call was ended.

* * *

The beach was the perfect way to relax. Emma was in a cute little one-piece and a big hat that almost always flew off her head. As her dad, there was a little “she’s all grown up now” moment in Ben. It didn’t stop him from thinking about Joshua though, so he called him.

Unfortunately, he didn’t answer. When he was asked for a voicemail, he spoke. “Hey, uh, we’re at the beach. By we, I mean me, Emma, mom, Tucker, Danny and Riley. Maybe it’s time to...you know. God, I’m sorry. I can’t even say it.”

Joshua picked up. “Ben, I’m sorry.”

“What? No, _I_ ’m sorry.”

“I’ve forced to try and come out when you’re very clearly not ready.” Joshua said.

“But you’re kind of concerned on my commitment on this and I want to get past that. I don’t want to lose you, honestly. If, shit, uh, you know, that will help you believe that I am very committed to you, then I will...try to come out.” It was a little weird and hard to say and he assumed it was always because he never felt the need to publicly share this. Now, at the back of his head, he thought that maybe he was ashamed of it, or maybe he was simply not ready.

Joshua chuckled. “I’ll come down. But you don’t have to force yourself. Baby steps.”

“Hey, you’re coming down. That’s the first step alright.” Ben said. He shared a few more notes of laughter with Joshua, but when it died down, there was a little pause. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Ben smiled a smile from ear to ear. “See you when you get here.”

* * *

It had been thirty minutes since he called Joshua. Thirty minutes that seemed like thirty whole hours of Tucker pestering Ben. He had listed over forty women, none of which have even contacted Ben, or the other way around, for months.

“For real, Tucker, are you even trying?” Ben asked.

Tucker grumbled. “I am! Give me another hint. Has Danny, Riley, or Mrs. Wheeler met this secret someone?”

Ben inhaled. “I mean, Emma’s met this...secret someone and so has mom and Riley. Riley’s encounter was a little short-lived though. Danny...may have, but I wasn’t a witness to that.” He recalled Joshua’s call about accidentally outing him to his brother.

“That should cross out, maybe, ninety percent off my list!”

Ben lowered his sunglasses. “That’s a big ass hint, so hit me up when you’ve figured it out. Oh, and you mentioned Angela a total of ten times since the game started. What the fuck is up?”

“She’s still my top guess.” Tucker said. He stood up. “I’m going to pee.”

“I love that we just share that kind of stuff without any care.” Ben said. “Is my sarcasm too obvious, or nah?”

Tucker flipped him off jokingly and finally walked off.

Ben was about to doze off, but his phone rang. He looked at Caller ID—Joshua—and answered. “Hey.”

“Hey, I just got here. Want to pick me up at the entrance?”

“Sure.” Ben sported his shit-eating grin again and ended the call. He left their spot to go and maybe score a few kisses from his boyfriend. _Nope, it’s still too soon. Maybe. Hopefully I can do this, Dad did._

* * *

When he saw Joshua at the entrance waiting for him, he just ran at him and gave him a full hard kiss on the lips. Everyone—kids, adults, the security guards—saw, but he didn’t care. When he finally let go of Joshua (because at some point both of them had to breathe), he was panting.

Joshua laughed. “You went from baby steps to _baby_ steps.”

“I’ve really missed you. Like, a lot.” Ben mumbled. He hoped to sniff a little of Joshua’s sweet smelling hair and internally groaned when that note of sweetness hit his nostrils. He missed _this_.

“Are you ready?” Joshua asked.

“I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around having a boyfriend—oh cool. I could say it now—anyway...” Ben said, trailing off a little. The adrenaline from his earlier kiss was pumping him full of excitement, anxiety and a little combination of both he called fear.

Joshua hugged him. “You said ‘boyfriend.’ That’s enough for now.” When he released Ben, he gave him a little peck on the lips and said. “Now, let’s find crazy town.”

Ben laughed. “You’re sleeping with the mayor of crazy town. Let me give you a VIP tour.”

* * *

It was a little scary. The only thing that made it a little better was being able to stare at Joshua’s nicely chiseled chin and weirdly clean-cut chest. He thought it might be a little too much on the voyeuristic side of things for a person with OCD.

Bonnie wasn’t so happy Joshua was here. "I thought I already dealt with you."

“Relax, Ben invited me.” Joshua said, flashing a little smile at Ben. “I actually found a nice apartment a little ways off your building. A little smaller, but it’s real cheap, especially for a medical student.”

“Why’d you invite him?” Bonnie asked.

“We got to hanging out, like, a few days after we met. He was at the bar and I accidentally gashed my hand a little. He bandaged the hell out of it.” Ben said, shrugging. “Be civil, mom.”

“Oh, alright.” Despite her initial disappointment, they got to talking. Eventually, they got along.

Tucker came back after a little while. He was surprised, to say the least. “Joshua?”

“Glad you remember.” Joshua stretched out a hand.

Tucker shook it and said. “Um, what are you doing here?”

Instead of Ben going through his schtick again, Bonnie spoke up. “Ben invited him. It’s actually quite nice to see a new face instead of the same old, same old.”

Tucker scowled, and jokingly smiled. “You would know, wouldn’t you?” Having applied a little burn on the tall blonde, Tucker turned to Ben. “Hey, I just saw Danny and I asked him if he knew about your dirty little secret and he acted all weird.”

Ben and Joshua shared an incredulous look that both of them hoped neither Bonnie or Tucker saw. Ben spoke first. “Like I said, I wasn’t a witness so I’m not sure if they actually met.”

“I hope this secret is actually worth solving.” Tucker grumbled.

“Secret? What secret?” Bonnie asked.

Tucker smiled mischievously. “Oh, it’s nothing. I caught Ben being all lovey-dovey over the phone and he goaded me into this game of finding out who it is. So far, I’ve listed over forty women.”

Bonnie turned to Ben. “Is it Angela?”

“God, why do you both think that?” Ben groaned.

“Who’s Angela?” Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s Emma’s biological mother. She’s the one who left Emma at my doorstep.” Ben explained. He thrust his hand into the cooler they brought for a beer but he was met with cold hard ice. “I’m going to get more beer. Josh, come with me?”

Joshua jumped from his seat with a smile.

* * *

 

They weren’t talking. It wasn’t out of anger or anything, but they were just holding hands. It was actually nice, but one of them had to speak and Joshua volunteered.

“I still don’t know if you were okay about me accidentally telling Danny.”

“I am.” Ben chuckled.

Joshua apologized again. “I promise, I didn’t even know he was _the_ Danny. He’s probably figured it out after Tucker asked him.”

Ben tightened the grip he had on Joshua’s hand. “Hey, it’s fine.” He said. He brought their interlocked hands to his lips, kissed the back of Joshua’s hand. He slowly stretched his arm out and made his way up to Joshua’s lips. They kissed briefly. “I’m planning on coming out today, remember? One less person to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” Joshua asked.

“Yeah.” Ben paused a little, before reconfirming his decision. “I’m sure.” He smiled at Joshua, then leaned in for another kiss. When he pulled away, his eyes focused on the figure of his brother standing by a juice stand. Ben noticed the confusion dancing in his eyes. His heart dropped when Danny spoke.

“It’s you, right?”


End file.
